New from COSSA
Science Policy Conference Program Taking Shape; Hotel Block Extended to April 6
More sessions and speakers have been announced for the COSSA 2018 Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day. The conference will feature a keynote address delivered by Sian Beilock, President of Barnard College, plenary panels on âReestablishing Trust in Social Science & Dataâ and âPost Truth: Communicating Facts, Not Fictionâ and topical breakout sessions on the theme âWhy Social Science?â covering National Security, the Opioid Epidemic, Natural Disasters, and Criminal Justice. Check the preliminary agenda for the full lineup of presenters announced so far. Registration for the Conference is still open. Members and students are entitled to discounted registrationâemail…
COSSA to Present 2018 Distinguished Service Award to Rep. Dan Lipinski, NIHâs Bill Riley
COSSA has named U.S. Representative Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) and Dr. William (Bill) Riley, Director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as the recipients of its 2018 Distinguished Service Award. The COSSA Distinguished Service Award recognizes leaders who have gone above and beyond to promote, protect, and advance the social and behavioral science research enterprise. Awardees are chosen by the COSSA Board of Directors, which represents COSSAâs governing member associations. The 2018 Distinguished Service Award will be officially presented at a reception on April 30, 2018 as part of COSSAâs…
COSSA Releases 2018 Edition of State Fact Sheets, New Federal Funding Dashboard
COSSA has released the 2018 edition of its state funding fact sheets, a set of one-pagers that highlight the amount of federal social science research funding that goes to each state, as well as the top recipient institutions and sources of federal funding. Accompanying this yearâs fact sheets is a brand-new federal funding dashboard with an interactive map so you can easily compare states and see how funding is distributed across all the universities within a state. These resources are produced using the most recent available data (fiscal year 2016) from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statisticsâ Higher…
Read COSSAâs 2017 Annual Report
COSSAâs 2017 Annual Report is out now. Check it out to learn more about COSSAâs activities and successes over the past year. Find out how your organization can become a member of COSSA on our website. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Webinar Highlights Graduate Training in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
On March 6, COSSA hosted a webinar to discuss a recent workshop on Graduate Training in the Social and Behavioral Sciences convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The webinar featured Robert Kaplan (Workshop Planning Committee Chair) and Amy Stephens (NASEM), who discussed findings from the workshop (the workshop summary is available here) and potential next steps. Slides are posted on COSSAâs website. COSSA is collecting contact information for those who wish to stay involved in ongoing efforts in this area. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Sian Beilock, President of Barnard, to Keynote COSSA Conference; Other Speakers Announced
COSSA has announced that Sian Beilock will deliver the keynote address for the COSSA 2018 Science Policy Conference on April 30. Beilock is the 8th president of Barnard College and a psychologist who studies how children and adults learn and perform at their best, especially under stress. She is the author of Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal about Getting It Right When You Have To (2010) and How the Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of the Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel (2015). COSSA has also released information about some of the…
Trump Releases FY 2019 Budget Request; Read COSSAâs Analysis of Social Science Impacts
On February 12, the Trump Administration began releasing details of its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget request to Congress, although details for some agencies (such as the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health) have yet to be released and are expected in the coming days or weeks. In light of a recent bipartisan agreement to increase discretionary spending over the next two years, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released an addendum to the FY 2019 budget outlining a number of adjustments to the budget request. However, the Presidentâs views the new spending caps as a âceilingâ for…
Donât Forget to Register for COSSA Science Policy Conference & Advocacy Day
There is still time to register for COSSAâs 2018 Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day on April 30-May 1 in Washington, DC! More information about the conference is available on COSSAâs website. Remember: All participants affiliated with COSSA member organizations and universities are eligible for a discount on Conference registration. Check your inbox for a previous email from COSSA with the discount code or email jmilton@cossa.org. And undergraduate and graduate students can register for only $50, an 80% savings off the base price. Interested students should send an email to jmilton@cossa.org with their program, university, and anticipated year of graduate to receive the…
Catch Up on COSSAâs Advocacy Twitter Chat with MPSA
On January 23, COSSA co-hosted a Twitter chat with the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), a COSSA governing member, that shared tips for social scientists who would like to become more involved in advocacy. You can read a recap of the conversation here. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Early Bird Registration Open for 2018 COSSA Science Policy Conference
Early bird registration is now open for COSSA’s 2018 Science Policy Conference & Social Science Advocacy Day, which will take place on April 30 â May 1 in Washington, DC. Registration rates will increase on January 16, so register now! Attendees affiliated with COSSA member organizations can receive an additional discount by using their exclusive member coupon code (email jmilton@cossa.org for details). In addition, students can register for a special price of $50. Interested students should email jmilton@cossa.org with your field of study, university, and anticipated year of graduation to receive the student discount code. More information about the conference,…
COSSA Releases 2018 Rankings of College and University Social Science Investment
Last week, COSSA released its 2018 College and University Rankings for Federal Social and Behavioral R&D, which highlight the top university recipients of federal research dollars in the social and behavioral sciences. This year’s rankings feature a new dashboard with an interactive map of recipients of social and behavioral science R&D funding, which allows you to see how your university stacks up against more than 400 U.S. institutions. Based on the most recent available federally collected data, the COSSA rankings use an inclusive selection of fields to calculate the total federal R&D funding received by universities in the social and…
Save the Date: 2018 COSSA Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day â April 30 & May 1
COSSAâs 2018 Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day will take place on April 30 and May 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. The Conference brings together COSSA members and other stakeholders for a day of discussion about federal policy impacting our science followed by the only annual, coordinated advocacy day in support of all of the social and behavioral sciences. Early bird registration will open later in December. More details will be posted on the Conference webpage as they are made available. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
COSSA Joins Societies in Requesting Changes to NIH Clinical Trial Policy
In a letter sent to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins on October 27, COSSA and 21 other scientific societies and associations requested that NIH revisit a new policy that alters the definition of âclinical trialsâ funded by the agency and institutes new reporting requirements for such research (see COSSAâs coverage of this issue). While the letter is supportive of the goal of enhancing transparency of NIH-funded research, including introducing registration and reporting requirements, the signatories express concern that âbasic science research is being redefined as a clinical trial at NIH and that âbasic science investigators will be…